


i've been acting like i'm strong (but the truth is, i've been losing ground)

by scarletnxva (supernxva23)



Series: oh life passes you by (don't waste your time on your own) [1]
Category: Superman & Lois (TV 2021)
Genre: Jon and Sarah friendship??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 19:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30077355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supernxva23/pseuds/scarletnxva
Summary: ' “What? He likes me? And here I thought he just kissed me at the party for fun!” she exclaims, barely able to keep her act up, a smile breaking through.  Amused, Jon barks out a laugh which sets Sarah off laughing, too.'--Jon runs into Sarah, a friendship is born.
Relationships: Jonathan "Jon" Kent (Superman & Lois 2021) & Sarah Cushing
Series: oh life passes you by (don't waste your time on your own) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2222688
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	i've been acting like i'm strong (but the truth is, i've been losing ground)

**Author's Note:**

> set sometime mid-season
> 
> not beta'd, mistakes were probably made.
> 
> title is from Dismantling Summer by The Wonder Years

Jon still can’t quite believe it. Jordan was on the football team and absolutely killing it. He was happy for him. His brother was making friends, he was happy. Jon can’t be mad about that. Sure, initially he thought Jordan was just playing to the rest of the team off their backs, and once he did that, Jon thought Jordan was done.

He didn’t hurt anyone and even got respect from Sean after apologizing for kissing Sarah. And Jon thought that was it, Jordan could go back to being Jordan and Jon could go back to playing without the fear of being bombarded by his own teammates. But when Jon saw the text on Jordan’s phone and picked up on his attitude. He realized that maybe Jordan didn’t want to quit. Maybe his brother had finally found somewhere he could belong.

Jon makes a decision as he walks into the kitchen where he finds his dad. Jon puts his own feelings aside and went to bat for his brother. He talks circles around his dad, eventually hitting him with some final words, “What’s the point of having something special if you’re not actually allowed to be special?” Which leads his dad to let Jordan play football.

Jon was happy that his brother was happy. But there was this still a part of him that always reminded him that Jordan was becoming more liked, more respected than him. And he hated that feeling. Jordan started getting invited to hang out with some teammates of theirs, making friends.

Which is why Jon is wondering aimlessly around town by himself. Jordan was hanging out with some of the guys and Jon was left to his own devices. He wasn’t really looking forward to the silence of the farm, so he hitched a ride with his mom into town on her way to work. So here he is, wandering down street after street, unsure of what to do. And as he rounds a corner, he runs right into someone.

An apology flies out and he looks and sees who he bumped into. Sarah stands in front of him, apologizing as well as she takes out her ear buds. “Jon, hey.” she greets. 

“Hi Sarah.” he replies. “What are you doing here?” he asks. Sarah tilts her head.

“What am I doing in the town I live in? I could ask you the same thing. I thought you’d be hanging out with the team?” she tells him.

“Uhh, no, I wasn’t feeling up to it, Jordan is though, hence, me , alone.” Jon says. Sarah definitely picks up on the weird vibe he’s putting out, but doesn’t question him about it. And Jon’s glad, he really doesn’t want to get to it. So Sarah moves the conversation along.

“So… what are you up to?” she asks him. Jon shrugs.

“Nothing, I guess, just needed to get off the farm for a while.” he confesses. Sarah nods, understanding. 

“Well, I’m heading to the diner, so if you don’t have anything better to do, you could tag along.” Sarah suggests. And Jon doesn’t have anything better to do. 

“Uh, okay, sure.” Jon accepts the offer and moves to walk along to the side of Sarah.

They walk together in silence for a block until Jon opens his mouth. “So uh, how’s not cheering?” he asks, cringing as soon as it comes out of his mouth. Sarah snorts.

“Wow, you’re not really great at the whole small talk thing are you?” she asks, sarcastically. Jon laughs nervously.

“No uh, I’m usually doing it on Jordan’s behalf and I don’t really need to do it for him anymore so, yeah, I guess it isn’t.” he states.

“So it’s easier to speak for your brother than it is to speak for yourself?” Sarah questions. Jon pauses. 

“Uh, huh. I guess I never thought of it that way but, maybe.” he says. 

“Ah, big brother complex, makes sense.” Sarah figures, “Which one of you is older, by the way?” she asks. Jon grins.

“Well, our parents didn’t want one of us to hold the older card over the other, so they never told us to this day.” he tells her. Sarah hums, “Smart parents.” she replies.

And they finally make it to the diner, walking in and grabbing a booth, they sit down and the waitress takes their drink orders, handing them menus. Silence falls between them again, then Sarah asks about how Jordan’s doing. 

“He’s good, better than good really. Why, I would’ve thought he’d be texting you non-stop.” Jon says. 

“He does, but we haven’t really hung out in awhile. Between school, practice and hanging out with the team, he’s kind of busy. But I’m sure you already know that, though. I just wanted confirmation that he’s okay, I guess.” Sarah admits.

Jon understands, she worries. “Well, I can confirm that my brother is doing just fine.” he reaffirms. Sarah breathes out a sigh of relief. 

“Well, that’s good. I’m glad he’s fitting in here.” she tells Jon. He smiles sincerely. ”Yeah, me too.“ Sarah takes a sip of her drink. 

”So, “ Sarah continues, ”What about you?“ she asks. Jon scrunches his face, confused.

”What about me?“ he questions. 

Shaking her head, she tries again, ”No, genius, what about you? How are you doing?“ she explains.

“Oh!”, Jon exclaims, finally understanding, “Uh I’m-I’m fine.” he replies. It must not have been convincing, because Sarah fixes him with a serious glare. 

“Okay, let’s try that again. How are you doing? Really?” she asks again. Jon relents quickly under her stare, not knowing all that well, but definitely sure she wasn’t letting him off the hook that easy.

“I will be, fine, eventually. I’m just still settling in, I guess, finding my footing. It’s been hard, moving my life here, but I’ll be okay.” Jon expresses, the most honest he’s been with anyone since moving here, even surprising himself when he says it. 

“That’s better!” Sarah says. Jon rolls his eyes and turns the conversation back onto Sarah. 

“So, when are you gonna ask my brother out?” he asks her. Sarah chokes on her drink hearing the question.

“What?” she asks back. Jon delights in catching her off guard. 

“Well, you like him and if you couldn’t tell, he really likes you.” Jon tells her. Sarah wipes her mouth and feigns shock.

“What? He likes me? And here I thought he just kissed me at the party for fun!” she exclaims, barely able to keep her act up, a smile breaking through. Amused, Jon barks out a laugh which sets Sarah off laughing, too.

The laughs subside and Sarah speaks again. “And why should I be the one to ask him out?” she asks Jon. He smirks. 

“Well, uh, Jordan tends to overthink things, so by the time he’d muster up enough courage, you guys would probably be 50 years old. So if you wanna make a move, you should.” Jon tells her.

Mulling over his words, Sarah thinks before replying. “I don’t know, he seems pretty confident out on the field. And besides, he’s been hanging out with Sean a lot and I don’t want anything to be weird between everyone.” Sarah explains. “I think for now, we should just be friends, hang out and get to know each other better.” Sarah says, “Plus, if I ever need to get dirt on him, I’ve got you.” she smiles, a slightly sinister look on her face.

“Oh no, you won’t get anything out of me. You really think I’d spill my brother’s embarrassing deep dark secrets?” Jon asks. Sarah ponders the question for a moment before deciding.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you would, isn’t that like sibling 101?” she replies. Jon tilts his head, knowing he definitely would. 

“You’re not wrong, but if you stare at me like you did before I’d probably tell you anything.” Jon tells her. “You can be kinda scary, you know that?” he admits. Sarah shrugs, not offended by his comment. 

“Yeah, it’s kind of my super power, I’ve worked hard on it.” she says, sarcasm lacing her words. Jon snorts.

“Oh look, you’re funny, too! Full off surprises, huh?” Jon says, jokingly.

Sarah rolls her eyes. “Shut up, Kent.” she says, fixing him with her stare again, and he puts his hands up. 

“Okay, okay, just stop the stare, please.” Jon pretends to beg. Pleased with herself, Sarah backs down. 

“Since we’re on the subject of liking someone, do you have your eye on anybody?” Sarah asks him. 

“Uh no, I have a girlfriend.” he responds. 

“Back in Metropolis? Oof, how’s that working out?” Sarah questions.

Jon looks down, and starts ripping pieces off his napkin, “It’s difficult, hard to find time where our schedules aren’t off. I don’t know, I hope we can work on it, get better.” Jon shrugs and Sarah looks at him, sympathy rising. 

“Ah, I see, that sucks. I’m sorry.” she says, bluntly. 

“Yeah,” Jon sighs, “But you know, whatever happens, happens, right?” he states. “Anyway,” he perks up, “We should probably order something so we don’t get kicked out, huh?” he says.

Sarah eyes his change in demeanor, but says nothing, turning to her menu to decide what she wants. The two eat and spend the next hour talking about everything and nothing. Bonding over teachers they both like and the ones they don’t. Jon, not knowing when to laugh when he couldn’t tell if Sarah was joking or not until he starts to pick up on her type of humor. He almost chokes on a fry, laughing at a terribly dark joke Sarah had said.

His coughing/laughing fit ends as he gets a call from his mom, asking where he is and saying she’d swing by to pick him up. He tells her and hangs up, finishing the last of his meal. “My mom is on her way here, do you need a ride?” Jon asks her. Sarah shakes her head.

“No, my mom is picking me up after she’s done with cheer practice, so I’m okay.” she replies.

They pay and exit the diner, standing outside on the curb together. “Thanks for uh, letting me tag along, It was nice to forget about everything for a while.” Jon confesses, truly thankful for running into her today. Sarah looks surprised at his statement.

“Uh, yeah. Well. It was either sit alone for a few hours or hang out with you, so the less lonely option seemed better.” Sarah jokes, “But, yeah it was nice. If you ever decide to wander the town streets again, maybe I can join you.” Sarah offers.

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound too terrible.” Jon jokes, earning a punch to the shoulder from Sarah. 

“Hey, I’ll have to spend time with you to learn all your brother’s secrets.” she jokes back. Now it’s Jon’s turn to pretend to be shocked, and he gasps.

“Oh, I see, you’re just using me for my information, how could you!” he says, faking anger and hurt, making Sarah laugh.

“But really, you’re not the worst person to hang out with.” Sarah admits. Jon spies the pick-up approaching before he can say the same. 

Lois pulls up and rolls down the window. “Hey kiddo, hi Sarah, how are you?” she asks. 

“I’m good, Mrs. Lane, how’s the Gazette?” Sarah questions. 

“Slow, but we’re getting there. I think we might need some spare hands soon, so if you’re looking for a summer job, we can use all the help we can get.” Lois says.

“Thanks Mrs. Lane, I’ll talk to my mom about it.” Sarah replies. Lois smiles at her.

“Alright, sounds good. Jon, you ready?” she asks her son. Jon looks at his mom and replies. 

“Yeah, yeah. See you around, Sarah. Thanks for today.” Jon says. 

“See you around, Kent.” Sarah says back, smiling softly at him. Jon gets in the car and waves as they drive away. Sarah waves back and turns to walk away from the spot they stood in.

Lois turns to her son at the next stoplight. “I didn’t know you two were hanging out.” she states. 

“I just ran into her and we decided to hang out. She’s pretty cool.” Jon says. Lois takes a look at him, seeing how light he seems, his shoulders not carrying the weight they have been since they moved here. The light turns green and she drives on.

“Well I’m glad you had a good time.” she tells him, taking the next turn. Jon turns to look out the window, feeling okay for the first time since coming to Smallville. 

“Yeah,” he utters, “Me too.” he says, softly. And he thinks that maybe, just maybe, in time, he’ll be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> god i loved writing this.  
> i hoped you enjoyed reading it  
> let me know  
> 
> 
> (I watched the 1x04 promo and i'm frightened)  
> -  
> as always,  
> nova


End file.
